Describe a need that you have observed in one or more of your high ability students. What evidence do you have that this need exists? What actions are you considering to address this need?
One of the needs that I have observed in my high ability students is their need for extra information. By that I mean that they usually ask extra questions and often branch out of the topic at hand to get me to answer their questions. Evidence for this need: during a mitosis lecture, one of the high ability students began asking many in-depth questions about genetics and inheritance that were far more complex than the mitosis concept (from parent cell to two daughter cells). To respond to this student, I answered her questions in a prompt manner and then told her that we can explore that area more in our next unit (which happens to be genetics and inheritance). Also, I didn't know the answer to one of her questions (this girl's smart!) so I promised her I'd look up the answer and get back to her next class. I ended up doing just that and I felt that she really respected my action.
So basically, in the future, I intend to respond in the same manner. I love that the high ability students have questions and that they want to ask me. However, I will limit my response time during other topics (b/c other students in the class can become bored and get unfocused).
Describe a need that you have observed in one or more of your medium ability students. What evidence do you have that this need exists? What actions are you considering to address this need?
The need that I have observed in my medium ability students is the need for engaging lessons. These students do pretty well in the class but they get off topic so easily. My toughest challenge is to keep them engaged. I know that they can do whatever is necessary but I can just see the boredom in their eyes. Evidence for this need: during class activities, the medium ability students would rather just chat with their friends and goof off than participate in the activity. So, to counter this off task behavior and socializing in their groups rather than doing school work, I came up with a plan - instead of letting them pick their own groups, I did that for them and the results were AMAZING. First of all, I reshuffled the groups in a very fair way (I had a pile of index cards with their names written on them, I shuffled the cards in front of them, then asked a few students to cut the deck and then finally created five piles of cards which meant that there were five random groups). So this took care of the excessive socializing part b/c now they weren't necessarily with their best friends. To address the need for them to be engaged, I assigned EACH member in the group a job. Each of them had a responsibility in the activity and I told the whole class that before I give them a group grade, I will ask each member of the group what their contribution was and all of the members will have to agree with the responses before receiving their grade.
This method really worked. The students weren't chatting excessively and they were engaged b/c they knew that the group grade cannot be given without all of their participation.
So in future classes, I intend to use this method again. Probably not every time b/c I do want to let them pick their own groups every now and again.
Describe a need that you have observed in one or more of your low ability students. What evidence do you have that this need exists? What actions are you considering to address this need?
The main need that I have observed in my low ability students is the need for extra explanations. More specifically, I feel that the lower achievers need me to slow down my pace and explain the same thing in various different ways. Also, I feel that I need to model explicitly what I want them to do. Evidence for this need: when I've explained a certain topic or a certain activity and given instructions, it's the low ability students who usually don't seem to understand me. They are usually the last ones to get started on class activities and the ones who tell me that they're confused or they don't know what to do.
So to counter this issue, I now try to model a class activity each and every time. For example, when the students had to work in groups and produce a poster board and present it to the whole class, I began the class by showing them a poster board (which I had completed before class) and presented that to the whole class as if I was in a group giving a presentation. So I ended up playing four different parts and presenting it the way I had wanted them to present. I think the students found it really helpful b/c they saw exactly what I was looking for and they didn't have to wonder what was expected of them.
So for the sake of the low ability students (and really for all levels), I plan on modeling as much as I can and also explaining things in many different ways. Finally, I plan on slowing down my pace and stopping every now and again to check for their comprehension.
Addressing Student Needs
Describe a need that you have observed in one or more of your high ability students. What evidence do you have that this need exists? What actions are you considering to address this need?
One of the needs that I have observed in my high ability students is their need for extra information. By that I mean that they usually ask extra questions and often branch out of the topic at hand to get me to answer their questions. Evidence for this need: during a mitosis lecture, one of the high ability students began asking many in-depth questions about genetics and inheritance that were far more complex than the mitosis concept (from parent cell to two daughter cells). To respond to this student, I answered her questions in a prompt manner and then told her that we can explore that area more in our next unit (which happens to be genetics and inheritance). Also, I didn't know the answer to one of her questions (this girl's smart!) so I promised her I'd look up the answer and get back to her next class. I ended up doing just that and I felt that she really respected my action.So basically, in the future, I intend to respond in the same manner. I love that the high ability students have questions and that they want to ask me. However, I will limit my response time during other topics (b/c other students in the class can become bored and get unfocused).
Describe a need that you have observed in one or more of your medium ability students. What evidence do you have that this need exists? What actions are you considering to address this need?
The need that I have observed in my medium ability students is the need for engaging lessons. These students do pretty well in the class but they get off topic so easily. My toughest challenge is to keep them engaged. I know that they can do whatever is necessary but I can just see the boredom in their eyes. Evidence for this need: during class activities, the medium ability students would rather just chat with their friends and goof off than participate in the activity. So, to counter this off task behavior and socializing in their groups rather than doing school work, I came up with a plan - instead of letting them pick their own groups, I did that for them and the results were AMAZING. First of all, I reshuffled the groups in a very fair way (I had a pile of index cards with their names written on them, I shuffled the cards in front of them, then asked a few students to cut the deck and then finally created five piles of cards which meant that there were five random groups). So this took care of the excessive socializing part b/c now they weren't necessarily with their best friends. To address the need for them to be engaged, I assigned EACH member in the group a job. Each of them had a responsibility in the activity and I told the whole class that before I give them a group grade, I will ask each member of the group what their contribution was and all of the members will have to agree with the responses before receiving their grade.
This method really worked. The students weren't chatting excessively and they were engaged b/c they knew that the group grade cannot be given without all of their participation.
So in future classes, I intend to use this method again. Probably not every time b/c I do want to let them pick their own groups every now and again.
Describe a need that you have observed in one or more of your low ability students. What evidence do you have that this need exists? What actions are you considering to address this need?
The main need that I have observed in my low ability students is the need for extra explanations. More specifically, I feel that the lower achievers need me to slow down my pace and explain the same thing in various different ways. Also, I feel that I need to model explicitly what I want them to do. Evidence for this need: when I've explained a certain topic or a certain activity and given instructions, it's the low ability students who usually don't seem to understand me. They are usually the last ones to get started on class activities and the ones who tell me that they're confused or they don't know what to do.
So to counter this issue, I now try to model a class activity each and every time. For example, when the students had to work in groups and produce a poster board and present it to the whole class, I began the class by showing them a poster board (which I had completed before class) and presented that to the whole class as if I was in a group giving a presentation. So I ended up playing four different parts and presenting it the way I had wanted them to present. I think the students found it really helpful b/c they saw exactly what I was looking for and they didn't have to wonder what was expected of them.
So for the sake of the low ability students (and really for all levels), I plan on modeling as much as I can and also explaining things in many different ways. Finally, I plan on slowing down my pace and stopping every now and again to check for their comprehension.